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What did the EU's 17th sanctions package target?
Summary
A look back at the sanctions step taken against Russia on 20 May 2025, and a legal filing by Lithuania against Belarus a day earlier.
What did the European Council do on 20 May 2025? It adopted a 17th sanctions package against Russia, and the package included 189 additional vessels belonging to Russia's shadow fleet.
The measure was part of the EU's wider set of restrictions on Russia, as the numbering of the package shows. By naming vessels, the Council directed this round at the shadow fleet in particular.
A parallel move on Belarus
On 19 May 2025, a day before the sanctions decision, Lithuania filed a lawsuit against Belarus with the International Court of Justice. Vilnius accused Minsk of orchestrating the migrant crisis and of violating international law.
The two steps used different instruments. One was a sanctions decision by the European Council, the other a legal case brought by a single member state before an international court. Both were aimed at governments in Ukraine's neighbourhood, and both came within the same two days.
